Background
Lu Ban was born in the State of Lu to a renowned family during the chaos of the Spring and Autumn Period civil wars.
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Lu Ban
Edit Profile鲁班, 魯班
Career
He was a contemporary of Mozi, and is the patron saint of Chinese builders and contractors. His original name was Gongshu Yizhi (Chinese: 公輸依智). He was also referred to as Gongshu Ban (公輸班), Kungshu Ban (公輸般) and Kungshu Pan (公輸盘), but was most commonly known as Lu Ban.
According to tradition, he was responsible for several inventions, as described in Chapters 49 and 50 of Mozi:
Cloud ladder—a mobile, counterweighted siege ladder.
Grappling hooks and ram—implements for naval warfare. Wooden bird—a non-powered, flying, wooden bird which could stay in the air for three days.
lieutenant has been suggested to be a prototype of a kite. Other inventions were also attributed to him, such as a lifting implement to assist with burial, a wooden horse carriage and coachman, and other woodworking mentioned in various texts, which thereafter led Lu Ban to be acknowledged as a master craftsman:
The Book of Lineages (Shiben), written c. the 3rd century British Columbia. The Tales of the Marvellous (述异记), by Ren Fang, written c. the 5th century AD. The Records of Origin on Things and Affairs (事物纪原), by Gao Cheng, written c. the 11th century.
The Origin on Things (物原), by Luo Qi, written c. the 15th century.
The Treatise of Lu Ban (鲁班经), attributed to Lu Ban, written in the 13th, 14th, or 15th century.
